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cricketnationrise · 4 months

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Congrats on 500 followers! Going Platinum is one of my absolute fave RWRB fics 😘

For Ficlit Fest:

Time: 14:28

Location: the music room at Kensington Palace

Character: June Claremont-Diaz

Song/lyric vibe: I'd scream at the wind but no one would listen (U Deserve - Wasia Project)

My username is the same on Ao3 as here 😊

thank you so much!! the ficlet fest continues to introduce me to absolutely AWESOME music, so thank you for your prompt I am obsessed. enjoy your ficlet feat. angry big sister energy 💜🦗

read all the ficlets from this fest on AO3 here

❤️🤍💙❤️🤍💙

2:28pm, kensington music room

Most of the time, June can put the fact that Henry is an actual honest-to-god prince, fourth in line for the throne, and all-around big deal out of her mind and think of him as her friend, a fellow Austen-enthusiast, and her little brother’s boyfriend. Most of the time, June can set aside the fact that his sister is a literal princess and their brother is going to be king one day. Most of the time, June can look past the notion that Henry’s mom is going to become queen in her lifetime.

Sitting in goddamn Kensington Palace, in one of the best-appointed music rooms June’s ever seen, is not one of those times.

Aside from Bea and Henry’s bedrooms, it’s the most casual room she’s seen so far. It’s suffused with a sense of family and laughter, unlike the more public spaces of the palace that seem to sag under stonework and tradition and a persistent phantom dampness. Even the guest suite she was shown to earlier feels coldly formal. But the lingering sense of chill falls away here.

There’s half-drunk cups of tea on the side tables, notebooks scattered on the grand piano, Bea’s leather jacket slung over a squashy-looking armchair that wouldn’t look out of place in a thrift store in Austin. All of the instruments, while of obvious quality, look like they’ve been played often, and well-loved. While the collection of electric guitars is gorgeous, June’s attention is drawn toward the older acoustic guitar propped up in the far corner, half-hidden behind a fern.

She pulls it out and sits with it, strumming idly, echoes of lake water lapping at the dock in her ears. Her fingers pluck out simple chords, adjusting to the new instrument before the music swirling around her head takes over her hands. She’s flying through John Denver and Selena and Dolly Parton and Fleetwood Mac and Patsy Cline, lost in memories of easy summers at her dad’s lake house. But then June’s thinking about last time at the house, and Henry, and how devastated Alex was to wake up with him gone. How he’d been a shadow of himself for a week before taking off across the Atlantic to scream some sense into him. And then the leak, and the election, and suddenly there’s furious tears streaming down her face and she keeps harshly playing the same bit of Johnny Cash over and over, like a skipping record, the lyrics in her head drowning all other thoughts:

And I went down down down

“June?”

And the flames went higher

“June?”

And I went down down down

“June!”

And the flames went—

Bea pulls the guitar out of June’s hands and it’s all June can do to not curl up in a ball or let loose a scream—anything to mitigate the swirling anger that she’s been shoving down for weeks. Her hands ball into fists as she half-sobs, trying to get a hold of herself but then, Bea’s hands are covering hers and June lifts her blurry gaze to Bea’s face.

“Just let it out, love, you look like you need it.”

And June tips forward and buries a scream in Bea’s shoulder, lets Bea pull her closer and cage her in as the scream turns to sobs. It takes a long time for June to calm down again, fighting for each gasping breath while Bea rubs her back and murmurs soothing nonsense. Eventually she calms down enough to sit up properly again and wipes her face with the cuff of her sweater.

“S-sorry about that, Bea. I just—”

“If you think you’re the only person who’s had a breakdown in this room, you’re sorely mistaken,” Bea says. “Christ knows I’ve had more than my own fair share. But my sponsor says they’re good for me so…”

June sits with that a moment then—

“I’m just still so angry.”

“About the leak?”

June nods. “About all of the shit they dealt with. That they’re still dealing with. And like, officially, everything’s fine now, right? My mom won and Richards is going to be punished and Alex and Henry are happy but—”

“They shouldn’t have had to deal with that in the first place,” Bea finishes grimly. “And because everything’s “fine” now, we have to be fine, too.”

“Yeah. Like I just feel like screaming at the injustice of it all, but no one would listen. ‘They got their happy ending, so can’t we just move on?’” June mocks. “I saw some rando post that on Twitter this morning and couldn’t get it out of my head.”

“Maddening, isn’t it?”

“Understatement of the century.”

“Next time, text me. Odds are I’m feeling the same way.”

June does grin at that. Bea’s probably the only other person who gets what it’s like being the older sister to such a potent force for good in the world. Who gets wanting to fight anyone and anything that threatens her brother’s happiness.

“I will.”

#cricket writes #tailsbeth #ficlet fest 500 #rwrb #angry big sisters vs the world #the line you prompted really grabbed me by the throat

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myezblog · 10 days

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Ming's Character

It is apparent how difficult it is to bring out a character on TV vs in a book.

Just sharing a few things about Ming's character that may help people interpret his character better. No spoilers.

*******

Independent Ming -> He is not some pampered good for nothing with a huge ego. When he was abroad, he used to live alone, cook for himself and basically knew how to take care of himself and his home...This is relevant as to why he allows Joe to do things for him... cooking, cleaning, a feeling of a home... its not that he can't do it or doesn't get it at his home... but because the emotions Joe ignites in him are special

2. Not a non sensitive git -> this is a big deviation in drama from the book. From ep 1, in drama, Ming appears to be someone who is still eyeing Tong despite him being his sister's boyfriend. In the book, he didn't do that. He actually went abroad to avoid both his being gay confrontations and being near Tong and his sister (because he knew it is wrong and didn't want to create any trouble for his sister)

Him being gay is definitely a problem with his family. But other than that we don't really see anything else.

3. Toxic love in 2.0 .. not really .. Even the guy who hates Ming (Sol) the most acknowledges and knows that Ming's love for ML (Joe) transcends even his own ... everyone in the book world knows that and don't have even an iota of a doubt..

Its just that they are still angry about what happened in 1.0 .. but then all of them have been a witness to Ming's sufferings and attitude in those 2 years and know better

4. Toxic obsession.. NOT REALLY.. with respect to ep 4, he is not in that home because of some powerplay. Without spoiling, his feelings are very pure, very sorted at this point .. not some crazy obsession.. more like latching onto this 1 single hope that exists.. which everyone else has given up on.. and in the book you can read how every day of holding onto that single thread of hope took a toll on him

5. He does not give up... In the book too, one thing with Mind is that ( i guess this is the part of rich priviledged background).. he keeps repeating that he always has what he wants...

Now he says that always in context fo Joe.. because we have seen him not even try for Tong though he wanted Tong, or try in his career or whatever... but just ML (Joe) everytime he tries to get away from Ming

6. Lastly, there is no trauma going on with Ming in the book.. BUT THAT he has truly ever been in love with just 1 person since he was 16... ONLY ONE PERSON... he has sought sxual releases when he was abroad etc.. but just loved that one person... and that one person is also responsible for his sxual awakening... and it is not Tong

He has loved the back.. whoever has the back is his true love.. is the one who fuels his sxual fantasies everytime... he does not imaging Tong when having sx.. but rather fantasies with respect to that back.. its just that in his mind the back is Tong's

#my stand in #my stand in the series #joe x ming #ming x joe #poom phuripan #up poompat

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9800sblog · 8 months

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Mingi ideal type thank you!

mingi tarot reading

ideal type - personality and appearance

do I have his energy permission to do and share this reading? 6 of cups, ace of cups

this is the longest one I've ever made but bare with me, mingi is my favorite person i pay attention to him the most, so I have more information memorized.

personality

the world reversed - mingi wants someone he can take care of, someone that has one or many issues in their daily life that he can help with. shy, messy, anxious, insecure, angry, he loves those things because he wanna be the one to "save" them, help them get on their feet with strength. he doesn't want someone that is too worldly, he wants someone that wouldn't mind staying inside a lot, someone that doesn't have as hectic of a schedule as he does, someone more anti social, that don't have many friends (he literally said that he preferred quiet, anti social, nerdy girls when he was in school, he doesn't want someone with a big personality).

4 of pentacles reversed - he's said he likes jealousy and here it is, he wants someone who is extra possessive of him. he also wants someone who is curious and open to his input in their life, who isn't so defensive and stuck in their way. he's also expressed his preference for being a provider, so his ideal type is maybe someone who earns less than him and probably a stay at home partner/parent. someone he doesn't need to touch or be around physically to feel their presence. someone that knows the appropriate times to be selfish or selfless, but specially altruistic when it comes to him. someone like him, who has many different interests but when they pick something, that's it for life.

7 of wands - loyal as fuck (like the anime your name, that level of loyalty), he's probably the type to tell you you can't have any guy friends or wear a certain outfit and he wants someone who will comply easily. someone who is desired and that he needs to be possessive over, but that will literally fight every person that likes them. someone that protects him over any and everything, that takes care of him no matter what. someone incredibly confident that can stand their ground, persevering, courageous, strong and capable.

8 of wands reversed - mingi is a very shy person when he's around someone he really likes (check him meeting jongkook vs any other celebrity, for example), he wants someone that won't give up on him even if he's too slow, too nervous, giving confusing/conflicting messages, someone who will understand and stick with him even if no one else does. shyness is a trait that's present in all of these cards, this time mystery is also coming through, someone he needs to win over with time, that only he understands, someone who makes him feel proud of himself when they open up and tell him stuff (if he has someone in mind, it might be someone who speaks a different language). again, he may not be interested in those who are too energetic and do a lot in their day, someone more introverted is more comfortable and fun for him. as an entp, his ideal type is definitely introverts. 8 of wands also signify anger, irritation, mingi is someone with very strong opinions, he may want someone who can share his frustrations and hatred over specific things, or at least who won't judge him.

appearance

my sister was listening to enchanted by taylor swift in the other room when I got to this part, mingi just wants love at first sight, someone enchanting, dreamy, magical, who will leave him starstruck and shocked, as if it's meant to be.

6 of cups - he loves height difference, he may think it's cute if they look innocent and younger. very delicate and feminine. tanned/golden skin. very natural, he prefers simple, comfortable styles, soft makeup or none, and no cosmetic procedures, like someone that doesn't live in the city, down to earth. very much like rory gilmore.

the star reversed - very much a casual style, very natural, probably someone that doesn't fit the beauty standard. someone that knows how it feels to be considered unattractive, someone that's had a glowup, someone with hidden beauty (can go from messy to superstar). mingi has expressed his concerns many times, it's not surprising if he wants he wouldn't feel pressured to look like a star for, someone who wouldn't make him feel like he needs to change to be beautiful. not flashy, more conservative (mingi has called out atinys wearing showy outfits in fanmeetings before), someone that covers up and doesn't wear many accessories (just check out his outfits when he isn't filming)

page of cups reversed - he honestly does not care, he's a hopeless romantic, he loves to have rose colored glasses, as long as it's his person, he would find them beautiful and sexy no matter WHAT. he is very innocent in this matter. however, he may like legs and a flowy hair, soft and girly aesthetic (spring, flowers and water is a consistent theme in these cards). he prefers someone who has a more serious look, he's said he liked the serious and quiet kid in the back of the room. a toned down, less creative, just a very casual and comfortable style (he dresses a lot in street style and even more in the original grunge, so he's probably attracted to that too).

☆

since mingi is obsessed with anime, I thought I'd show some characters that match because it's honestly very similar and he loves to base his aesthetic on things he's seen on tv

in his head, this is him and his person

taiga & ryuuji - toradora!

komi & tadano - komi can't communicate

ponyo & sosuke - ponyo

rory and jess - gilmore girls

I could not leave this show behind

#ateez tarot #kpop tarot #ateez #mingi

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tokyo-daaaamn-ji-gang · 10 months

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Whilst I'm at it, if the cast decided to write fanfiction, would they write, what tropes would they be fond of and who would be writing the filthiest and freakiest of smut you can think of.

Ok so assuming everyone had to write one and they couldn't say no this is what I came up with

Takemichi- superhero fic, very cliche, follows pretty much every trope. It's dedicated to Hina too (she loved reading it). It's probably got something to do with a 4 leaf clover in the name.

Mikey- Writes fic about Taiyaki kun being the hero, probably a long adventure type story, taiyaki kun rides a motorbike at one point, it's a wild read.

Draken- He'd likely be very big on the found family trope, you just know his fic would be about some rag tag group coming together and bonding to the point of becoming family (the villian is probably based on Hanma).

Hina- oh definitely romance, the hero saves the girl, the girl saves the hero. She just writes the perfect couple and then overcoming any obstacles together in their way.

Emma- Romance #2, she writes the cutest fluff you can think of.

Naoto- Probably a horror mystery with plenty of occult themes and references. He looks key really enjoys writing it so it's probably a long multiple chapter fic, with a bunch of people following it.

Kisaki- Story about the hero however with a major plot twist towards the end showing the hero was actually the bad guy. It's actually very well done and clever despite how cliche it may sound.

Hanma- ok I see two possible ones here, either he takes it seriously and writes one of the most interesting fics ever (hey he knows whats exciting and what makes a good story) or he absolutely does not take this seriously and writes the smuttiest smut to have ever smutted and attempts to annoy the others with it.

Kazutora- i think he might do something a bit different and write it in letter format, as in character's sending letter's to each other. Letter's probably mean a lot to him and he's likely the most comfortable writing in that format so he uses it in his fics.

Baji- Cat story!!!!! There's definitely some kind of big cat fight scene (baji can't resist) but ultimately it's a happy story. He probably also makes a few spelling errors but it's ok since Chifuyu helps him correct anything.

Chifuyu- Was tempted by Baji's cat story but settles on a person romance instead. It is full of manga references and the girl eventually kisses the guy after he gave her a polkadot based surprise. Probably a soul mate au.

Mitsuya- very detailed fic, like expect everything to have every last detail described (especially people's clothes).

Hakkai- space story! Probably a self insert about him going to space and being a hero (when he comes back mitsuya is incredibly proud of him).

Pah & Peh- They do everything together including fic writing. Definitely a story about two friends (them two), is a happy story about these two friends vs the world.

Smiley- fights, fights and more fights, everyone just wants to beef each other here.

Angry- I think he would write am interactive type fic, like the type where people comment and choose what they want to happen next, I just think he'd enjoy the interactions with people.

Mucho- coffee shop/ bakery au! Actually probably writes about his friends working there, izana is the manager, kakucho the assistant manager, sanzu is a loyal customer, mucho himself prepares the cakes, the Haitani brother's face the customers, mochi handles the drive thru and shion is the dishwasher who keeps breaking things.

Sanzu- definitely a royalty au about a king and his loyal soldier.

Inui- probably heavily use the miscommunication causes the main issue trope, he's seen it irl and knows it really can cause a bunch of problems.

Koko- probably a fix it fic, writes about a fire but this time no one dies, the girl gets saved and ends up happily living with her rescuer. This is probably actually something he uses to work through his regrets.

Yuzuha- a cute fic about a sister protecting her brother, she probably beats all the bad guys easily (and the brother's phone lockscreen is of the sister)

Izana & Kakucho- they work together to make another royalty au but this one focusing on the king and his kingdom, the story of this king creating his new world.

Ran- oh definitely a very obvious self insert story. The main character? Flawless hair, everyone loves him, has a little brother who adores him, dresses famously, treated like a celebrity. The guys name is probably like nar or something. Just basically his perfect life, tries to make it very poetic too.

Rindou- probably actually a song fic, the type with lyrics to match the mood. He just expresses himself a lot through music so brings it into his writing too.

Shion- another one with a self insert fic, this one really does go over the top though. Writes himself to practically conquer the world, winning every fight he gets into.

Senju- Probably a fun adventure fic, I think she would also be pretty big on it being a family adventure/ a found family adventure.

Wakasa- ok idk exactly why but he gives me those text fic vibes, where two characters are texting each other. I feel like he'd actually kinda unexpectedly enjoying making it too.

Benkei- Another fic very high on the action, a lot of fights, the characters are likely based on the 1st gen Black dragons.

Shinichiro- Say's he's going to write smut but then gets too embarrassed and ends up with fluff instead.

South- ok I think he'd also write a kinda lyric fic but instead of lyrics he'd just straight up put musical notes down. He's just so passionate about it and doesn't really care if others don't understand what those mean (he'd passionately explain it to anyone who asked though)

#ok ngl i skipped Taiju cause i got really really stuck on him #tokyo revengers #tokrev #tokyo rev #tokyo revengers spoilers

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himbothemboswagger · 10 months

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ROUND TWO

Why should you vote Laios Touden?

"HE'S SUPER SWEET!!! Also like tell me that wanting to be a monster isn't autistic coded (it is). He cares about his friends a LOT!! LITERALLY WENT INTO A DUNGEON WITH BARELY ANYTHING JUST TO SAVE HIS SISTER TOO! IF HE COULD ADVENTURE ALONE HE WOULD BUT HIS FRIENDS DIDNT LET YIM!! AUTISM BE DAMNED MY BOY CAN GRILL"

"The dudes so nice but everyone (in story) judges him way too cuz hes bad at picking up social cues and has monsters as a special interest. Multiple times where hes just trying to be friends with people but they get angry at him cuz he can’t pick up their not interested even though they never actually tell him explicitly. He is my boi and its very unfair. No way this guy is neurotypical. It takes until the last 20 chapters when the world is literally ending because of the demon controlling the dungeon for him to finally conclude “maybe the dungeon is actually bad”. He just wants to become a cool monster and live in peace but eldritch horror and political maneuvering keep on getting in the way. A bunch of dudes literally try kill him but he’s just chill with them cuz hes cool like that."

"HE HAS A FRYING PAN"

Why should you vote Roman Sanders?

"ROMAN!!!! ROMAN MY SILLY LITTLE MAN. HE HAS NO IDEA WHATS GOING ON HALF THE TIME, HES THE MOST SASSY BITCH EVER IN THE BEST WAY POSSIBLE, HES BIG AND DUMB, HE HAS A STINKY RAT MAN FOR A BROTHER, TYPE OF GUY TO THINK IT ISNT GAY TO KISS THE HOMIES GOODNIGHT, PROBABLY KINS PRINCE CHARMING FROM HIT MOVIE CINDERELLA 3 A TWIST IN TIME"

"Roman is a state of mind, Roman is a slay, Roman is an icon, you love Roman and Roman loves you."

"He is so gay and dramatic and he is a fucking hero"

#himbothemboswagger #dungeon meshi #laios touden #laios dungeon meshi #delicious in dungeon #laios thorden #roman sanders #sanders sides #roman sanders sides

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serialadoptersbracket · 3 months

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Round 2, Match 9: Gintoki Sakata vs. Eithan Arelius

Submitted kids:

Gintoki Sakata: Kagura and Shinpachi Shimura, his own de aged mentor Shouyou, Hashida Kanshichirou, and Seita

Eithan Arelius: Yerin Arelius, Wei Shi Lindon Arelius. Also maybe Akura Mercy and Ziel of the Wasteland

Propaganda under the cut!

Gintoki Sakata:

“Gintoki is introduced to us as a depressed twenty seven year old dealing with ptsd who first adopts Shinpachi after protecting him from Amanto (aliens, who have somewhat taken over earth) who were harassing him, which led to Shinpachi losing his job, and Gintoki having to help him rescue his sister Otae from the family’s debtors. Shinpachi comes to work for Gintoki as Odd Jobs, soon joined by Kagura (an amanto herself with super strength who was working as part of gang prior to Shinpachi and Gintoki helping her leave) Kagura leaves in his house and later Gintoki allows her to get a pet dog. It’s made clear that these three are a family and more than a few episodes make it clear that Kagura seems Gintoki as her earth father (her bio dad, the strongest man in the universe, goes around the galaxy fighting monsters) and Shinpachi feels a familial connection to him as well. There’s also Hashida, a baby who looks a lot like Gintoki, whom Gintoki takes care of when the custody battle over Hashida becomes an actual battle. This includes drinking together, tying the baby to his back while fighting his way to Hashida’s mom, and Hashida crying when Gintoki leaves, after promising they’ll share a drink when Hashida is older. In a similar vein is Seita, a street kid who tries to pickpocket Gintoki but gets robbed in return and ends up working for Gintoki’s landlady (Gintoki’s own adoptive mother) and being taken care of by her and the odd jobs family as a whole, before Gintoki discovers Seita’s mother is Hinowa, the Sun of Yoshiwara and its highest ranking courtesan, and fights Housen, a crime lord who fought Kagura’s father for three days and nights until they considered it a draw, and kills him, just so Seita and Hinowa can reunite. During the timeskip late in the series, we discover after seemingly defeating the Big Bad Utsuro (an immortal who formerly was Gintoki’s adoptive father and teacher Shouyou) Gintoki spent two years raising the reincarnated Shouyou as a baby, before being given his heart to prevent Utsuro’s followers from taking it. These are just the most notable examples, pretty much any character younger than Gintoki gets taken care of or helped by him in a way, including Kagura’s older brother, temporary member of Odd Jobs Pirako, and even to an extent youngest Shinsengumi member Okita Sougo. Gintoki is positioned as acting as the same adoptive parent role as his own adopters (Shouyou and his landlady Otose) are, taking on similar burdens and making, or trying to make) similar sacrifices as well. He can be really soft with kids at times, and has at least once carried Kagura and Shinpachi away from a fight on his back.”

Eithan Arelius:

"An immortal who is so lonely because he's the only one who can do his job and that job is killing entire worlds. So he hides his identity and goes back to his home, intending to raise up apprentices to join him. And so he runs into weak teen boy (Lindon) who also happens to carry a token from one of his immortal coworkers, travelling with angry girl with a sword (Yerin). After an insane training session that involved locking Lindon in a room full of monsters, dueling Yerin's sword with a pair of scissors and in his narration saying that if Lindon died he wouldn't really care, he decides to adopt them. Less a you're my kids way (for now) and more a you're part of my house and all the shit that entails.

At first he's closed off emotionally (though it's easy to think otherwise with the his level of confidence and the sheer amount of jokes) but as time passes he grows to trust them and really see them as a family. Near the end of the last book this guy was being aggressive towards Yerin and Eithan, full Reaper mode puts a hand on the guy's shoulder and is like ""Are you bothering my adoptive daughter??""

Also note other characters part of this little family but I kinda hesitate to say have a parent-child relationship going on: Akura Mercy, daughter of one of the most powerful women on Cradle who has horrible mommy issues and loves her friends. Ziel, who Eithan dragged into the gang by offering to help cure Ziel's condition (it's a long treatment process so you're going to have to join our adventures in the meantime!). Little Blue, literally a small blue spirit. Orthos, a dragon turtle. Dross, London's spirit AI thing who was one of the few things that has ever surprised Eithan because he should not be able to exist at this level what the fuck."

#gintama #sakata gintoki #gintoki sakata #dadtoki #cradle #cradle series #eithan arelius #serial adopters bracket #round 2 #tumblr tournament #tumblr polls

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cutepastelstarsalior · 29 days

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Helluva Boss watch though part 2

Episode 3

Blitzo has an ex, and he also has a sister. 👀

Verosika. That like a weird mashup of Veronica and Vriska….But she was in rehab?

Ok Veroskia’s design is so pretty. But man she and Blitzo do not look like there from the same universe. Made it’s the color palette, or the lineart, it they kind of collide.

Oh, she’s a succubs. Neat.

Loona has a human disguise? Do all Hellhounds have one, or just her?

Verosika human design is very pretty.

Loona having a crush on Vortex is cute. But man Loona human design is god awful when she’s standing next to Vortex. Her head is too big in some frames, and her anatomy looks off.

Moxxie and Millie team name is M&M, that’s cute.

Oh, Blitzo adopted Loona, who was almost 18 and almost aged out of the orphanage. Interesting choice. I wonder when that decision was made from the pilot to the actual show? Because in the pilot, Loona was just a snarky rude teenager receptionist. Here in the show, she insincure angry teenager.

So human alcohol can make imps drunk, but demon alcohol can make animals into violent mutants monsters..cool.

Vortex has a girlfriend, but it’s cool that he wants to help Loona make some friends!

Scale of 5, I give this a 3. It was just an ok episode.

Episode 4

Ok this version of heaven is very different then the Hazbin heaven. Maybe this is because this show was created when Hazbin was still a pilot? But there a a Cherub version of the Imps. AKA 3 angels trying to save people’s love ones. Ok that a cool premiere! Assassin group vs rescue (?) group!

Oh seems like Blitzo’s sister is his twin! Again, are they human that turn Imp or a hell-born demon?? It’s also cool how in the background they show small but important details. Like in a few episodes ago, they had a bunch of ads and poster of Fizz the clown robot.

Heheh her name is a play on barwire.

There 3 trilionaires in the human world??

Blitzo does have a point, when they kill somebody for hire, the victim gets sent to hell. Why is that? If it’s like a murder and the victim wants revenge that’s understandable. But in this case, the client wanted to kill the guy because he doesn’t want the person to have the inheritance. Why would that make the potential victim be sent to hell? Why would the clients want the people to be in hell anyway? To physically torment them? Like the episode where the teacher wanted to kill the girlfriend, what would she do once the girlfriend is in hell? Kill her again? Torment her?

Idk why, maybe it’s the lighting, or maybe it’s because Blitzo out makeup on, but in this episode he’s like a weird pale pink color then his normal red. I noticed this too with Moxxie in the beach episode. It’s kind of distracting.

Little pet peeve; I feel like there too much cursing? Like I can toon it out, but still. That and the causal fatphobia, sexism, and slur shaming..😬

Seeing 2 out of the 3 cherubs getting angry and curing, make me wish that when an Angel starts to do that, they start to fall. That the hate and stress corrupt them. It would be so cool to see.

Oh!!!!!! OMG the cherubs accidentally killed the old man, and now can’t be allowed back in heaven!!! Though the little deer girl didn’t actually explain what the rules are? BUT JUSTICE FOR LITTLE GOAT BOY HE DIDN’T DO ANYTHING WRONG HE WASNT STARTING TO GET CORRUPTED. Goat boy is my son now. And I’m taking him as mine now.

Scale out of 5. I give it a 5. I love this episode, it shows a deeper worldbuilding of how heaven and hell operates and how both sides try to get humans on their side.

Episode 5

Ok, so the deal Stolas and Blitzo had was about having casual sex. Thought Blitzo can’t really do his job without the grimoire, but neither can Stolas. So what does it do?

Blitzo’s co-workers are from the ring of Wrath. 👀 interesting.

Yooooooo Millie’s parents!!!! Oooooo a lore episode. Ok so Millie has parents, so I guess Imps are born in hell? Then what’s the difference, the physical differences, between a human turn demon, and an Imp? Maybe it’s the white spots/marked they have??

Moxxie infodumping about war and the history is cute.

Millie moved to Imp City. I guess that’s either the capital of the ring they stay at, or like an area only for Imp???

In Dante’s Infero, Wrath is the 5th circle of hell. There 2 groups of sinner in this circus, those who anger is expressed, and thoese who anger is internal/repressed (sullen). The groups have different punishment. Thoese who express their anger fight one another on the surface/side banks of the Styx, and the repressed are underneath the river Styx, in the swampy mud.

What Vivzie does here is have the Imps play games an annual Pain Game. I’m getting the Imps here are just farmers??

Moxxie feeling insecure about not being physically strong is neat. I like his and Strikers dynamic.

Blitzo having some insecurities is odd, idk if feels way out of left field? But Striker does have a point, why does Blitzo stay or keep going back to Stolas if he needs the book? Can’t he find a different way to get to the human realm?

👀 stolas’s wife hired Striker to kill somebody. My guess it’s Blitzo, since I don’t think She would kill her husband, and especially not tell her plans when they’re at the dinner table.

Score out of 5, I give this a 4.

Episode 6

So the government as been noticing and keeping track of the Imps. 👀. Blitzo and Moxxie were kidnapping and Millie became extremely overprotective and while Loona was concerned. Nice that the girls are going to help.

Moxxie making an extra long and complicated code order, and then laughing at the humans and just being chill, is a bit odd. I’m use to him either being angry, insecure, or being empathetic. So seeing this side of him is new. Also, I feels like Blitzo, Stolas, and Moxxie and the ones that have the most screen time/character development.

“I’m like 5 years older than you”. If Lonna is 18, that means Millie would be 23???? Idk if that’s true or not but if it is….WHAT?????

👀 yoooo higher animation for the hallucinations scenes!!!

Ok, wow. I love this?? Moxxie hallucinations is him and Blitzo dress as phantom of the opera, and Moxxie is questioning his “friendship” with Blitzo. Asking him why he keeps pushing his friends away, why he alienates other with his toxicity. Meanwhile Blitzo is dress in a clown outfit, in the mud, seeing shapes. The hallucinations of Moxxie telling him that Blitzo needs him and that he doesn’t want to be alone. He also hallucinations Striker, Fizz, and his ex. Saying that people resent him. And that he doesn’t understand relationships but also craves it. Moxxie wants to speak his mind and be a better friend to Blitzo.

After they hallucinate, Moxxie tells Blitzo what he said to Moxxie on their first day together. Blitzo also compliments Moxxie and tell him to use his name instead of sir.

This is a sweet bonding between the two. I don’t know how to feel about it though? Like it feels like progress and to make the two characters that fight and argue at lot to finally come together…But at the same time, it feels a bit too soon? I don’t know…

The fight scenes are very good! Lots of camera movements, fluid animation, and fun angles. Thought at some parts when there wasn’t that many characters and it only focused on one person, the space of the room felt too big and the animation felt slow.

“HEY THE ENDO PERIOD WAS BADASS AND YOU KNOW IT” haha nice.

Uno oh spaghetti O….the gang is traps by the two governments agents……and they….cant get out with the book because the room is too dark? Seriously. Guys, there like, 4 of you and 2 of them. You literally massacred a room full of agents…

Oh well, Stolas came and save the day. That little horror scene is neat, I like his monster demon bird form. But also how did he knew what was happening????

Oh…Blitzo kissed Stolas…are they a thing? Just friends with benefits? I don’t ship them so I don’t care. Well, besides Stolas’s cheating.

Dang the government guys have evidence now!!!

Score out of 5. I give this a 3. The fights and hallucinations scenes were cool, but that all that was interesting.

Episode 7

For some reason this episode is title as final but there also an episode 8?????

!!!! Well dang, Blitzo is having a character growth. He acting nicer to Moxxie and Millie. Also, it’s Moxxiea and Millie anniversary! Demons can get married. They’re also going to the Lust ring.

In Dante’s inferno, Lust is the second ring, but the first sin. Sinners are punished by being whipped and hurled around tornado and violent winds. Dante also thinks lust is the least serious sin. Also King Minos is a demon who judge and listens to sinners and send them to their correct circle. Btw, Dante infero hell has 9 circles; Limbo, Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Anger, Hersey, Violence, Fraud, and lastly Treachery.

In the Christian mythology, the seven sins are lust, pride, greed, gluttony, sloth, wrath, and lastly envy.

It’s interesting to see how Viv will combine or different the seven sins vs Dante inferno…

“Boring as fuck monogamy” 👀 Blitzo polyamorous real.

Blitzo asking Stolas out of a date, just to spy on Moxxie and Millie, but then end up actually talking to Stolas, is interesting. I just the having a slow burn from friends with benefits to being an actual couple??

ALEX WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE????

Fizzarolli…..that’s his name….baby why does your name sound like a weird soda or pizza knockoff???

Why does Fizz have robots of him? Also the one at LULU Land made more money entertaining kids than the robots that do sex work. Interesting. Also are all the robots alive??? Are they a hive mind???

Moxxie sing a song he wrote for Millie is cute. To bad fizz and Ozzie interrupt him…Asmodeus is the embodiment of lust. So is he a prince/represent of lust??? Also I heard a few covers of this song…and this is like literally the only sing from this show I enjoy.

Ozzie commenting that Stolas gave up his life, his kid and wife to be with Blitzo. Yeah. Like the dude literally cheated on his wife??? Why is the show trying to make us feel sympathy for Stolas??? Dude a homewreaker.

Aromantic Ozzie. To MEEEE.

“Octavia is with her mother this weekend” 👀 oh they did get a divorce!!! Got for them. Well, like, not. But I’m glad they decided to end it instead of staying together and keep fighting every day. I guess Stolas can now try to be with Blitzo since he and his wife broke up?? But I still think it’s not good..

Scale out of 5. I give it a 2.

#my thoughts #helluva boss #long post #review #helluvaverse #helluva boss critical #helluva boss criticism

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should-have-been-at-the-club · 3 months

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Round 1 Match 4: They Should Have Been At The Club Tournament

Propaganda below cut.

Propaganda for Elliot Schafer:

Dragged to a magical otherland when he was thirteen, decided to stay because no one would miss him in the normal world and also he wanted to meet a mermaid. SPENT THE NEXT 5 YEARS dealing with: multiple wars, fixing political conflicts (as a thirteen year old), unearthing corrupt leaders and their coups, dealing with the facts that his friends are forced to be murderers and then CONGRATULATED for it, and other such things. my guy should have been at the club!!! not dealing with fantasy wars!!!

Propaganda for Squirrelstar:

TW: Animal Death and Abuse

Squirrelstar, since she was a young teenager, dealt with a lot of trauma and $h!t within the books, that she honestly really needs a break from. As a young teenager, she saw a cat who she was traveling with, Feathertail, die from falling from a high altitude.

Squirrelstar also saw her own home being destroyed to humans, and had to travel miles away from her old home in order to now live in a new one.

She also learned that her friend, Shrewpaw, died from being hit by a car. And when Squirrelflight became an adult, she had $h!tty love interests to choose from:

Ashfur, who’s toxic and obsessive to Squirrelflight, who can’t even handle a literal love rejection from her, And Brambleclaw, who’s toxic and $h!tty towards her when he’s angry and/or upset at her. Squirrelflight eventually decides not be with Ashfur, and (unfortunately) chose to be with Brambleclaw.

Squirrelflight was also pressured by dead people in the afterlife to adopt her sister’s kittens, with one of the spirits lying to Squirrelflight that she’s literally stillborn. (Due to the kits existing being illegal, due to Squirrelflight’s sister, Leafpool, being a healer, and Crowfeather, the kit’s biological father, being from another clan.)

And Ashfur, is SO upset that Squirrelflight rejected him, that he literally cornered Squirrelflight’s adopted (now fully grown) children and wanted to KILL them in front of Squirrelflight order to make her “feel the pain that he felt.” when she rejected him.

And after the secret of her adopted kits’ heritage is revealed, Brambleclaw broke up with her and remained distant and/or cold towards her until literal evil spirits from cat hell try to murder all cats within the clans within a BIG battle. And within this BIG battle, Squirrelflight’s adopted daughter, Hollyleaf, dies, and so does Squirrelflight’s father, Firestar.

Squirrelflight, a little while after this, has a litter of four kits with Bramblestar, but two of the kits died, due to them weakening after birth. And her mother, Sandstorm, dies from an infected wound while traveling Alderpaw, Squirrelflight’s son, on a big journey. And with her PoV super edition book, Bramblestar is quite abusive towards her.

And he refuses to listen to her when she tells him that the clans shouldn’t attack a nomad cat group that’s temporarily occupying land that Skyclan doesn’t own yet. She sees her grandkit die after recently being born, And also saw her daughter, Sparkpelt, having depression from the loss of her kit and mate.

Squirrelflight teams up with her sister in order to help save the nomad’s leader kits, which resulted in both of them to be CRUSHED by a rockfall. But when they reach the afterlife, the dead spirits there - including the one who lied to Squirrelflight that she’s stillborn - literally decide to judge whether or not Squirrelflight and her sister should go to literal CAT HELL because of something that THEY LITERALLY TOLD SQUIRRELFLIGHT AND LEAFPOOL TO DO.

Oh, and Squirrelflight also learned that Ashfur, the very cat who threatened to KILL her children, was accepted into cat heaven, literally because apparently he “only loved too much”. (Which, unsurprisingly, turns out to be a BAD IDEA for the kitty heaven to do.)

And when Squirrelflight decides that she’s not ready to die yet - while Leafpool decides to be in Starclan, the kitty heaven afterlife - Squirrelflight wakes up seeing that her sister died from her injuries from the rockfall.

And Bramblestar apologizes to Squirrelflight for being $h!tty to her, but states it in a way that blames BOTH him and Squirrelflight being in the wrong, despite Bramblestar being the abusive one in the relationship and literally wanting to attack a group of nomads that literally done nothing to him.

And then sometime later, Squirrelflight’s mate dies from an illness, literally gets possessed by - guess who - ASHFUR, in order to destroy and break down literally everything that Squirrelflight knows and/or loves.

And after Ashfur, who’s possessing Bramblestar’s body, is exiled from the clan, and Squirrelflight became the temporarily leader of the clan, her clan mates disrespected her and didn’t view her as leader because she doesn’t have nine lives, like all leaders do (Yet somehow when a old man takes her place who doesn’t have nine lives her clan mates are chill with following him for some reason?)

And when she goes to the religious pond place to grief Bramblestar, her abusive mate- Ashfur literally knocks her unconscious, and DRAGS her into CAT HELL with him. And after all of this, Squirrelflight eventually becomes leader of the clan, due to Bramblestar being traumatized by Ashfur, and still being mates and/or having a strained relationship with Brambleclaw.

Squirrelflight dealt with so much abuse, trauma, grief, and $h!t from other characters, traumatic events, and from the writing itself in her life. So because of this, Squirrelflight deserves to be whimsy, chill, have fun, and have a freaking break from everything within the club.

#elliot schafer #in other lands #iol #squirrelpaw #squirrelflight #warrior cats #cw animal death #cw animal cruelty

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squishycheekanon · 4 months

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Favorites for video games? Hack and Slash, rpg, adventure, sandbox, slice of life, metroidvsnia? For categories

Okay so I’ll just list them off, Minecraft is an all time favourite of mine. I’ve been playing it since it came out in 2009, I remember back when all the blocks looked so different and there was no creative. I played it with my sister all the time growing up. Even right this second I’m watching ezY survive 2000 days in hardcore lol😝

Next up is Fortnite, I used to absolutely hate it. Then one day I was bored with nothing to do and decided why the fuck not. I died within two minutes because I did not know about the storm and circle part of the game. I really got into Fortnite and again I got my sister to play it with me, we were duo queens💅🏽 I am very disappointed with how the game has developed, i think it started to go down hill when they did the whole primal dinosaur chapter. I even stopped playing for a bit. But when they did the OG map I started playing again and I am still playing today. I got a solo win earlier😝

I really like among us but I feel like it’s better when there’s a big group of people over mics instead of taking forever to type with a controller, there was never a group of people who wanted to do that so I don’t play that really anymore. But still one of my favourites. I loved being imposter.

Sims. Sims 1, sims 2, sims 3, sims 3 pets and sims 4. These are elite. The progress they’ve made over the years, I grew up with sims and I can’t wait for sims 5. Fingers crossed they finally add multiplayer.

GTA as well as RDR 1 and 2 these are really fun to play with a group, I get bored playing this alone. Online play is the best in my opinion for these games. I haven’t played in a few weeks I don’t think.

Grounded, I thoroughly enjoyed playing this game. I got very frustrated when I died though and the spiders were fucking scary as fuck! But I recommend playing this one, especially with other people I had so much fun.

Gang beasts is another one I play, I only really play when I want to laugh my ass off uncontrollably though. Still very good and a favourite.

The trusty viva piñata, very good game.

Okay now, Hogwarts Legacy was fucking epic! An absolute masterpiece! The gameplay, the cinematography, the music, the characters, all of it. I fell in love with the story. And as a lover of the Harry Potter books and movies, being able to walk around Hogwarts in that much detail even in a game and being able to fly around on a broom was so amazing to me. I loved this game so much. I played it for a month straight and It did take me a solid week to defeat the boss, and I got very angry every time I died but it was so good.

Dreamlight valley, as someone who grew up watching Disney and cried my fucking eyes out watching the Disney parade at Disney World, being able to play in a Disney world with all your favourite characters is so cool. Being able to make it what you want, it’s such a good game. I am a little disappointed that you now have to pay for expansion packs in the game but the company’s have to make their money somehow I guess.

Halo, another one I grew up playing. I remember when it first came out. I remember playing it on the Xbox 360. And I have continued to play it all the way through to today. Replayed the second game last week. Love all of the masterchief collection.

Those were my favourites but I enjoy playing these too; Jax and daxter, spyro, all the assassins creed games, COD modern warfare, the cave, ark, dead or alive, Batman Arkham collection, fall guys, goat simulator😭🤣, plants vs zombies, sea of thieves, sunset overdrive, stranded deep and uno online.

#video games #squishycheekanonanswer #squishycheekanon #asks are appreciated #squishtalks #pc games #games #xbox #video game #fortnite #minecraft #sweet asks

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toujoursfleure · 4 months

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𝟑-𝟓 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐄 𝐂𝐀𝐍 𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐈𝐋𝐘 𝐁𝐄 𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐅𝐈𝐄𝐃 𝐁𝐘.

𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐑𝐒:

white - ( purity, innocence, cleanliness, authority, divinity. also it's modern understanding as a sign of purity and almost cold sterility vs. it's history as a color of death, mourning, and transcendence )

black - ( elegance, wealth, restraint, power. black blood in black veins. dark magic, the bleak void, repression )

sapphire - ( loyalty, nobility, sincerity, integrity. eyes that are as close to paradise on earth as one can get when she loves you but the icy depths of the ocean to the uninitiated. rich but cold. )

moss green - ( renewal and regeneration. fertility. resilience. the color of the gardens she loves and the ground her floral name has rooted her to. the blankets she swaddled draco in. )

crimson - ( blood. revenge. anger. the passion she stifles. it's the color she wears on her lips and nails like a gash after marriage and the first war. girlhood died in a fit of female rage. )

𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐒:

narcissa has a very fresh floral scent as her base. think the first promising breath of spring after a harsh winter. daffodils, melting snow, somewhat minty.

her perfume is something that she makes on her own and it enhances her natural scent while added something sultry and luxurious. amber. a little leather. honestly, her perfume borders on cologne territory.

there's always going to be a touch of the old world clinging to her like a ghost. wood and wine. the mustiness of an empty house. smoke.

𝐅𝐀𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐎𝐍:

laces as a child. her mother delighted in dressing her up like a doll.

satins and velvets. things that are slippery to the touch but create intrigue and texture.

narcissa is a fan of quiet luxury ( no big brands in modern universes ) and monochromes. she doesn't dress down ever, or at least out of choice.

she's more of a 'modest' dresser. she likes a good high neck and long gown. that being said, she wears clothes that are often incredibly form-fitting and hug her like a second skin or drape over her like water.

the shimmery the better. if she can't be named after a star, she can at least look like one.

𝐎𝐁𝐉𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐒:

ornate ring with a hidden locket that has portraits of both her sisters inside of it. ( think the ring that elizabeth i had of anne boleyn ) but they all had their own version of the ring before andromeda left

studded handle wand. ( this is one of the few movie choices i stand by because it's just too good ) same concept as digging your nails into your palm when you’re angry and trying to control yourself. narcissa is a paragon of restraint and has to go to great lengths to keep from letting the underlying madness/chaos/cruelty overwhelm her and take over.

an antique pocket mirror inlaid with pearl and gold. if anyone knows the powers of appearances, it's our girl.

𝐁𝐎𝐃𝐘 𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐔𝐀𝐆𝐄:

regal - ( we're talking pure aristocrat, baby. perfect posture, nose slightly upturned, graceful movements, could walk with a book on her head for miles and miles )

composed - ( you're not getting anything out of her that she doesn't want to show you. no twitches, no tells. her poker face is the stuff of legend. )

cool / aloof - ( if you're not close to her then you might find yourself questioning if she even has a pulse. she doesn't reach out and closes herself off from contact. there's not open hostility but there is the impression that you don't belong in her space and likely never will. smiles that don't quite reach the eyes, vague but sweeping gestures with her hands )

warm / generous - ( on the opposite end of the spectrum, if you have narcissa's love and affection she's as generous with it as anyone can be in private. she loves fiercely, she embraces openly. she's likely always touching you or finding a reason to. this is especially true prior to the breakup of the triumvirate that was her and her sisters. )

hostility / cruelty - ( you'll never see it coming but when it does it's swift and cold. she can be vindictive and her hatred can manifest in the darkest ways. unlike some of her family members who become pure fire and passion - even reckless - in their wrath, narcissa is calculated and knows exactly how to hit where it hurts. she'll likely have no expression beforehand but those eyes of hers express every gd emotion she's repressed right before the axe swings. )

𝐀𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐒:

clean girl / old money

femme fatale

gothic / baroque

dark academia

tagged by: @nobilisheir

#✖✖✖ ▍a morbid longing for the picturesque at all costs ≺ hcs ≻#this was a nice little refresher on my girl

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darkspine10 · 7 months

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GF Fanfic - Keeping it in the Family

Dipper and Mabel Vs. The Past (11,054 words) by darkspine10

Chapters: 2/9

Fandom:Gravity Falls

Rating: Teen and Up

Dipper woke up to the sound of rain pattering down on the roof. It was a rare enough occurrence in California and he was over-observant enough that he always picked up on the repetitive sound echoing in his old bedroom. He fumbled around in bed, finding it empty. His clock said it was around noon. Pacifica had let him sleep in; no surprise given his mammoth road trip the day before.

He rubbed his eyelids, wishing his slumber had been more relaxed. He’d been plagued with dreams retelling past times he’d quarrelled with his parents. It hadn’t happened much - his parents weren’t the strictest, and with two excitable and curious kids they favoured a light touch. The few times they had got angry with the twins stuck in Dipper’s mind like creatures frozen in amber.

Whenever something went wrong the twins would close ranks, confiding only in each other and defending themselves against the world. They had their falling outs, as any brother or sister would, but when united nothing could come between them.

It had been the case on that disastrous picture day at school, when Mrs Pines had been shocked to find both her children with messily shaved heads. Asking why Dipper hadn’t simply given Mabel his hat to cover up the conspicuous gum, he seemed confused, and said that he’d rather that they be on the same level, without either one feeling any kind of shame. They’d embraced what made them stand out instead of suppressing it.

The same thing happened a few years later, when Mabel had done the reckless teen thing of getting tattoos inked all up her arms as part of a short-lived goth phase. Their parents berated her for an hour, criticising the choice relentlessly. They were shocked she’d gone behind their back to do something so permanent. She hadn’t even thought they’d be mad about it. And when they pressed Dipper for what he thought about the situation all he said was that if she was happier with the tattoos then she should be allowed to live with her choice. There was no idea of discussing it with him, only full support of his sister no matter what.

That was the usual pattern, one of them would do something that seemed perfectly acceptable to them, only to be confronted with confusion from their parents. This faded as they grew older and more understanding of the way the world worked, but Dipper knew it was only a matter of time until he faced something similar again. Stepping out of bed, he skimmed through Journal 9, filled with sketches of monsters and calculations that could tear holes in reality. He didn’t have the first clue where to start with explaining it all to Mom and Dad.

Sighing, he put the book back with its siblings in the crate. Better to treat his parents like normal and chat with them about family and the holidays, then he could ease into the heavy stuff. Before heading downstairs Dipper was briefly distracted by another set of books, those few remaining on the shelf in his bedroom. He’d shipped most of the books he wanted to keep to his own home a few years ago. The ones that his parents hadn’t donated or got rid of over the years had gathered a thick layer of dust.

He laid a finger on the spine of one of the books and slid it out enough to see the cover. It was a kid’s book about space, with pictures of yellow five-pointed stars and silver rocket ships zooming across a night sky. With the starry background it wasn’t a million miles away from his current journal cover design, with the sigil of the Big Dipper that Mabel had designed for him. The book still held a small sheet of stickers of aliens poking out of the top. His parents had bought the book when he was 6, before they’d realised Mabel would most appreciate the stickers. They’d probably never have imagined books like these could spark a lifelong obsession with otherworldly exploration, nor comprehend the lengths Dipper had actually travelled across space.

He slid the book back onto the shelf. There were a lot of mementos in the house and he hoped they wouldn’t all make him feel so morose. He plodded out of his room, eager for company and to start the day properly. In the kitchen he found his mother, Pacifica, and Zera, sitting around the table drinking mugs of hot cocoa. Dipper brushed aside a miniature Christmas tree in a flowerpot to make space for him to sit down and be seen.

His mother smiled and put down the newspaper she’d been reading. “Good morning Mason, did you sleep well?” He took a second to process the use of his real name. It had been a long time since he’d been called ‘Mason’ by anyone other than Pacifica or casual strangers in professional settings. Most everyone else knew him as Dipper.

“I’m good Mom, well rested,” he lied, enviously wishing for a hot drink to wake himself up.

“We were just talking about places to go out when the weather’s better,” Pacifica said. “You and your folks can take Mabel and Merrise out to some museum or the bay or something.”

“Are you two not coming along?” Dipper said, raising an eyebrow at Zera. She hid behind her cocoa and sipped noisily.

Pacifica slid her chair back and signalled for Zera to follow her out. “Zera and I think that you and Mabel deserve some time together to reconnect as a family. Merrise can get to know her grandparents better without me or Zera getting in the way. I can take Wendy too if that makes it easier.”

“Thanks,” he said, mulling over the idea. He couldn’t tell if Pacifica was trying to help, by nudging him to face his parents more directly, or simply wanted to get out of the firing line when things inevitably hit the fan. The two of them left him alone with Mom, who was back to quietly reading the paper. He peered over and saw nothing interesting. Sports news, weather reports, local events. Compared to the Gravity Falls Gossiper it was bereft of anything unique or bizarre. It reminded him of his teen years, pining for adventure and the summers up north. He must have scoured every column inch printed in California hoping for leads.

“Can I talk to you, Mason?” Mom asked, breaking the silence.

“What about?”

“It’s Merrise.” She gave a smile that tugged the edges of her mouth but didn’t quite reach her eyes. “She’s a lovely girl, very curious about… well, everything. How I made my morning coffee, the way I tend the garden, where we get our water and electricity from.”

“That’s good. It shows she wants to get to know you. Trust me, if she wants to stick her nose into anything she’ll do it. Sometimes it’s hard encouraging her not to want to know every last detail of every person we pass on the street,” he said, chuckling.

“Yes, very bright,” Mom said. Her smile faded. “Although… “ Dipper waited to see what his mother could have picked up since last night. Merrise’s history wasn’t that obvious, was it? “I wanted to do the festive crossword with her, I thought she’d find it fun. She seemed to struggle spelling even the simplest of words. May I ask, is she perhaps special needs?”

“Not exactly. More like… uh, neglected home.” Dipper scratched his neck and flailed around for an acceptable answer that didn’t include the words ‘planetary war’, ‘orphaned in a bombing raid’ or ‘survived as a pickpocket on the street’. “Back where Merrise came from there was… always fighting, and she didn’t get much food… well, you get the idea.”

“I won’t pry into her background. I see a lot of kids like that passing through.” His mother rested a hand on his shoulder. “But like I always tell the new teachers we hire, it helps to seek out these educational issues as early as possible to nip them in the bud. It’s lucky that Merrise has sharp cognitive abilities despite her upbringing. You’ve done a good job of making sure she doesn’t fall behind her peers.”

“Thanks, Mom,” Dipper replied, genuinely touched by her praise. It had been a real struggle teaching Merrise the basics she needed to get by at school, a struggle not helped by her complete lack of knowledge of Earth or its customs. Between himself and Pacifica they’d given her a crash course in everything they could, though Merrise still had large gaps that singled her out as a stranger to this world.

“I’m sure you’ve made a world of difference to Merrise,” his mother added.

If you only knew the half of it, he thought. Out loud he said, “You’re still working at the school then?”

“Yeah,” she said idly.

“Ever think about retiring?”

She gave a short laugh. “In this economy? No thank you. It must be hard enough for you and Pacifica to keep afloat, ever since you quit your jobs.”

“I’m still looking for new work,” Dipper pointed out quickly. He’d been rather too preoccupied with raising two girls and hunting mythical creatures to really consider replacing the astronomy job which he’d abandoned a year and a half ago to go gallivanting across the globe. “In the meantime I’ve been sending off my portfolio to local magazines; wildlife photos, landscapes, animals, you know?”

“A stable career wouldn’t be a bad foundation for looking after Merrise and Wendy though. You don’t have to start completely from scratch. What about pursuing something more directly tied to journalism? Editing or publishing or something like that. You always used to like putting videos together.”

“Mom, that was years ago. They were only dumb little projects. I haven’t done anything like that since…” he trailed off. He’d never really thought about all the old hobbies he’d used to have before. Before finding the journal had sent his life in a new direction. Suddenly he hadn’t had time for anything other than research for his journal, writing down accounts of adventures in his journal, solving some mystery that revolved around the journal. For better or worse, the journals and the events they’d led him to had become his entire life. They had subsumed all his other passions, creative or otherwise, into one large endeavour, one he couldn’t share publicly. His video editing projects had become nothing more than an offshoot, recording supernatural encounters before fizzling out once he got more into writing his thoughts down on paper. “I’d better go check on Sixer,” he muttered, excusing himself from the kitchen. It was already hard enough thinking of ways to justify this to Mom, let alone making sense of things for himself.

Zera and Pacifica had moved into the sitting room and were reading a local guidebook, searching for somewhere to send the family for a bonding experience. Wendy was sitting between them, gurgling and clinging to Pacifica’s arm. Dipper acknowledged them with a wink and left them to the task. His father and Merrise were also here, heads down over a game board. While Mr Pines did the busywork of wrapping presents, Merrise was intently studying a grid in front of her.

“D6” she abruptly stated.

Mr Pines checked the board then cursed. “Ah, another hit. You’re too good at this, kiddo.” He placed a peg on the board and looked up at Dipper. “She’s a real wizard when it comes to Battleships. E6.”

“Miss,” Merrise said, wickedly grinning and planning her next assault.

“Only Battleships?” Dipper said, crossing his arms. “Sixer, you’ve gotta up your game.”

“I tried,” she whined. “I didn’t get any of the other games.”

“I played a few rounds of Uno and showed her how Poker works but she didn’t have a head for matching the numbers.” Mr Pines shook his head. “Snakes and Ladders is too simple for the younger generations apparently.”

Merrise smugly smirked. “It took me a little while, but I think I know why this one is so fun. It’s a war game, all about anticipating where the enemy is and blasting them before they blast you! A1.” Mr Pines threw down his peg and Merrise cheered another victory.

“Uh huh,” Dipper mumbled sotto voce. “War strategy, totally natural for a ten year old to be interested in. You should play Risk, Merrise” he said louder. “You’d probably love that one.”

“Maybe if she’s good then Santa will bring it for her,” his Dad said with a cheeky grin.

Merrise cocked her head. “What’s Santa?” Mr Pines was visibly disappointed and turned to Dipper.

“Oh, sorry Dad, Paz and I haven’t really bothered with the whole Santa Claus stuff.”

Across the room Pacifica shrugged. “It’s been a pretty hectic last few months, what with the adoption and pregnancy. Mabel will probably say something about us neglecting the traditions. Then she’ll try to teach Merrise about Hanukkah and the Solstice and every last Winter festival under the sun.”

“Speaking of, where is May?” Dipper asked.

“In the garage,” Mr Pines said, “I sent her to look for some old Christmas lights and tinsel. It was feeling a little spartan in here and I wanted to raise the excitement levels.”

“We’ll go see if she’s found it!” Merrise said, abandoning the blasted remains of her grandfather’s fleet to sprint off.

“You know what, let’s make it a quest,” Dipper said, scooping Wendy off the couch. She gabbled some baby talk and laughed in his arm. “You two can help me find your aunt.” Merrise grinned and ran out into the hallway “Getting colder,” Dipper said with a sly grin as she spun around and hurtled off to the opposite side of the house.

When Merrise opened the door to the garage she raised her hands to cover her eyes. Bright light spilled out and Dipper squinted inside. Hovering in the air was a glowing orb of purple energy, illuminating the garage. Hunched over a metal table, Mabel was going about her business completely blasé.

“Mabel!” Dipper shouted.

“Oops, oh my god, sorry! Nullus!” Panicked, she flicked her fingers and the offending light flowed into her fingertips and plunged the room into darkness. “The bulb was busted and I thought-”

“Yeah. You thought no-one would wander in here. You’ve gotta be careful, damnit! Flaunting your magic is not understated! What if Mom and Dad had blundered in?” Wendy began bawling, confused by all the yelling. Dipper hissed a whisper. “Remember how many close calls we had just like this one?”

“Alright, I messed up, whatever. Here.” Mabel gingerly stepped across the garage to a workbench piled with old junk. “I found some Christmas lights that still work.” The lights were in a twisted up tangle, but Mabel didn't seem to care. Flicking a switch, she illuminated the garage with a dim red and green ambience. “Ta da.”

“Thanks,” Dipper sighed, not pressing his point any further. Mabel’s red cheeks told him she’d got the message. He gently shook Wendy, trying to calm her down.

“Give her here,” Mabel said, taking the whining infant into a rocking motion. “It’s ok little goober, Aunty Mabel’s being a dumb dumb, that’s all.”

Merrise gingerly stepped up to the workbench and peered over its contents. “What is all this stuff?” While Dipper took deep breaths to compose himself, Merrise picked up a large leather-bound album. “Another journal?”

“Not quite,” Mabel said, having succeeded in pacifying Wendy.

Merrise flipped over the cover and found inside dozens of old photographs neatly packed into plastic sleeves. “It’s you guys!” she exclaimed. “You’re so tiny!” She pointed at a faded image of the twins from before they’d even started elementary school. They were wearing matching cat costumes. Laughing, she studied a more recent photo. Mabel, with a severe undercut and wearing nothing but black, was holding the camera in one hand and a red plastic cup in the other while madly grinning. In the background, sitting on the floor, Dipper was smiling and waving while reading his journal. A patchy beard covered his chin.

“A house party, with some high school friends,” Dipper explained. “That was back when I was on my first journal. Where’d you dig this up from?” he asked his sister, his anger fading as a new curiosity occupied him.

“There were a couple of cardboard boxes with ornaments and junk - plus so many old computer parts, you wouldn’t believe! - but a few at the back had some actual cool stuff. Here, look what else I found.” She handed Wendy back then dived into a dark recess of the garage, contorting to fit behind the cupboards. Dipper was taken aback when she waved a large bronze menorah in his face. It was weathered with rust and dirt but he still eagerly took it.

“Is this from Grandpa Sherman’s stash? Man, that’s a flashback and a half. Do we still have any of that old incense?”

“There’s a few mouldy candles; still smell just like they did when we were really little kids.”

“Wow, that must have been 25 years ago or more. We only did four or five Hanukkahs before Sherman moved away.”

“What’s a Hanukkah?” Merrise asked, her attention still on flipping through the photo album. “Is it like a Santa?”

“It’s Jewish festival tradition - we’re Jewish, or at least part of the family is. Mabel and I don’t really celebrate it much specifically.”

Mabel stuck her head down into the box, rummaging for more goodies. “I always associated Hanukkah with old relatives gossiping in Yiddish. That really takes me back. We should spruce some of this stuff up, you know, experience a little cultural heritage.”

“That would be cool!” Merrise said, brushing a finger though the dust on the old metal menorah.

“It would be nice, yeah,” Dipper said. “This thing’s a real hand-me-down. I’m pretty sure it used to belong to our Great-Grandparents, Caryn and Filbrick. They brought it from Europe when they emigrated.”

“Refugees like me, huh?” Merrise said with a smile. “On Tengosa we never had any seasons, so no special holidays. Except one time my mother threw a party with some of the locals in our tower block for some reason. I was really little so I don’t know what it was about, only that they all drank lots of wine, brewed all the way in the outlands! Dad let me have one sip and it tasted so sweet I felt like I would never get to sleep again!”

“Well, I hope this year we can give you some new family traditions to carry forward,” Dipper said, patting her on the shoulder. On the table beside the album Mabel’s phone buzzed and lit up with a new message. Dipper’s innate nosiness made him bend over to peek, and he saw the text was from their old friend Grenda. He only had a split second to read that it said ‘due to arrive next week’ before Mabel snatched the phone away.

“Don’t look, that’s private!” Mabel blurted out. She held her phone inches from her nose and peered at it, the soft glow reflecting in her glasses.

“What are you up to?” Dipper asked with a raised eyebrow and a self-satisfied grin, as if he’d caught her stealing snacks from the fridge at midnight.

“Nothing you need to know about yet.” After dashing off a reply she held the phone against her chest and made a triumphant grin at successfully hiding it.

“Whatever, weirdo.” Dipper shook his head, interest waning. “Just don’t involve me if it’s some festive prank or something.”

“Aw, that’s it?” Merrise had reached the end of the photo album. There were only two photos on this final page, with a scribble from Mabel dating them to 2021. One showed Pacifica and Mabel, adults now, reclining on a beach beside a lake and a forest. She could tell it was one of her father’s photos, he’d framed the pair nicely and they were in sharp focus compared to the landscape. The last photo showed the Pines family living room. Two old men sat asleep beside each other in armchairs, while Mabel stood beside them suppressing a giggle, evidently amused that they’d been unable to stay awake. Merrise recognised the two 70-year olds as Stan and Ford Pines, the twins’ great uncles. Even though she’d never met them they were a huge part of ‘family lore’.

“The last Christmas,” Mabel stated. “Dip and Paz weren’t there that year. Too busy with wedding planning. After that year I didn’t stay long in Piedmont. Flying visits only, without my brother. Stan didn’t make it to the next December. Ford was in no shape either.” Mabel looked away, wiping her face, and Dipper was equally pained by the memories.

“What about your grandpa? Is he still around?” Merrise asked.

“He’s alive if that’s what you mean,” Mabel said, smiling. She’d gone back to digging through the boxes, trying to perk herself up. “Ooh, old man cologne. Stan used the same brand.”

“Sherman retired to some island in Greece,” Dipper said fondly. “Last I heard he was spending his days reclining on a beach. That guy knows how to retire in style. He was the same when Ford came back through the portal, treated both his brothers like idiots for hiding the truth then gave them both massive hugs. Good times.”

“So he knew about the portal?” Merrise raised an eyebrow. “How come he knows but your parents don’t?”

Dipper rubbed his neck. “It was hard to hide it from him. Stan and Ford were his brothers, we couldn’t pull the wool over his eyes that something weird had happened. A family member back from the dead is one thing, impersonating them is another. But Mom and Dad weren’t as close to them, didn’t make as many trips to the Falls. They took what Mabel and I told them at face value.”

“But surely they’d figure out something was going on?”

“It’s not that simple…” Dipper said, trailing off.

Merrise was intent on understanding the whole truth. She wandered over to Mabel since her father remained tight lipped. She’d stopped her searching to listen and sat cross-legged on the bare floor. “You were, what, 12 when you found out about magic being real?”

Mabel nodded. “It was easy for us. We found Journal 3-”

“But you guys are always telling me about how you had to hide your adventures from your parents. If it was so easy for you to stumble upon then how could they miss all that stuff? I mean, I’ve been on Earth for a year now and I’ve seen all sorts of craziness. Firebirds, Mishipeshu, ostriches, you name it!”

Dipper raised a palm. “Now hold on. Firstly, Piedmont’s no Gravity Falls when it comes to weirdness. Half the time we kickstarted our adventures ourselves, summoning creatures or misusing artefacts. Mom and Dad weren’t going to run into anything like that in the street.”

“But you still found plenty of crazy things though. Mom told me, she had all sorts of stories of when she came to stay with you. What about the giant bees or nature spirits?”

“We did find lotsa stuff,” Mabel said, “but only because we knew what we were searching for. When you go looking for trouble it usually finds you. It’s the Streisand Effect.”

“The what? That sounds made up.”

“It’s real! It’s named after an old actress. When you learn about something you start to notice it cropping up all over the place. It’s just an illusion really. Or Dipper has his own theory of Weirdness Magnetism. Because we know about the strange, strangeness finds us more easily. At least that’s his idea.”

“Baader-Meinhof,” he said.

“Gesundheit.”

“No, it’s the Baader-Meinhof effect. What you’re talking about. When you’re aware of something you notice it more often. People think it’s more common all of a sudden when in fact it was always there, you just didn’t see. The Streisand effect is when something becomes more widely known when someone tries to suppress it.”

“Sounds relatable,” Merrise said harshly. “Why don’t we just be honest with Grandma and Grandpa? The more of your lives you keep a secret, the more they’ll want to know what’s going on, right?”

The twins stayed silent, but then Dipper broke into a grin. “That reminds me. Dad and I did run into a Cycloptopus brood one time. He thought they were nothing more than a weird calamari-fish hybrid.”

“He saw it close-up, for real?” Mabel asked.

“Yeah”, Dipper said, smiling to himself. “It was… nice.”

Mabel stood up and placed her hands on her brother’s shoulders. “Dipper. We need to tell them everything. I’m tired of bottling this all up.”

“We can do it,” Merrise said, squeezing his hand.

Even Wendy clung to his chest as if to give support. Dipper looked down at his daughter, equally ignorant of spells and spaceships. He wanted her to grow up with nothing hidden, no veil over a part of himself that she wouldn’t know. Dipper took a deep breath then relaxed. “You’re right. Of course, you’re right. We should rip the band-aid off, march right into the living room and tell them-”

“The rain’s stopped!” Mom thrust the garage door open, smiling. “Marc’s packing a lunch then we can head out.” She noticed the odd closeness between the three of them. Mabel quickly removed her hands from her brother’s shoulders and failed to appear nonchalant by whistling. “Everything ok?”

“Perfect,” Dipper said, affecting a broad grin. “Where are we going?”

“Pacifica found something in her guidebook. Said it jogged a memory. She’ll take Wendy to go for a coffee with Zera. She wants us to have some time to get to know Merrise. Is that ok?”

“Sure,” Merrise said. “As long as these two are up for it.” She threw a knowing glance upwards at Dipper and Mabel, then skipped out of the room.

“You wanted to tell me something?” Mom asked. The twins stared at each other, Mabel daring her brother to crack.

“It’s nothing,” he said, and Mabel deflated. “Although… maybe once we’re all together… there’s something I want to show you… in my journal”

Mom grinned, uncomprehending, and left the garage. Mabel subtly patted him on the arm and went to leave, before forgetting her hoard of discovered Christmas ornaments. She tangled herself up in lights and baubles before shooting Dipper a wink and following her mother out.

His smile wavered. The moment was fast approaching for him to bare his soul. He stood there with Wendy in his arms, paralysed between blurting out the truth and saying nothing at all. “I can do this,” he said, attempting to manifest the words as reality. He looked down at Wendy and smiled. “I can do this for you.”

#gravity falls #gravity falls fanfic #dipper pines #mabel pines #pacifica nortwest #dipper and mabel's parents

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